5th April, 2017
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday urged the ambassadors-designate to use their positions to attract investors and enhance the Foreign Direct Investment of the country.
Osinbajo made the call in Abuja at the closing ceremony of a five-day induction programme for the 45 non-career ambassadors-designate.
He said that the present administration was determined to create a favourable environment for investors by making the process of doing business very easy.
He said: “Use your position as ambassadors to serve and attract investors to the country.
“We have been working on so many things on ease of doing business in the country.
“One of the key measures is visa on arrival for investors, the implementation of which will attract investors to the country,” he said.
Osinbajo also added the administration is also working on getting approval on doing business as well as the one stop shop policy of the government
The vice president challenged the ambassadors-designate to be friendly in their relationships and be good image makers of the country.
“We need to know that persons need to be served with dignities and respect, this is very important,” he said.
The Vice President ensured that the government would work very hard to put in place all that would be needed to make the embassies perform at optimum level.
READ: Nigerians With Valid Visas Can Travel To U.S. – Embassy
According to the Vice President, Nigeria is fortunate to have the crop of the ambassadors-designate to represent the nation in various countries across the world.
“It is also an incredible opportunity and privilege to represent your country in various countries you will be posted.
It is in my view a very wholesome responsibility and honour for you to represent your country and given opportunity to serve the nation,” he said.
Earlier, Dr Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, urged the ambassadors-designate to attract investors into the mining sector of the economy.
Fayemi said that the ministry had put in place measures to end the exportation of raw solid mineral by miners.
He said that the move to end the era of exporting unprocessed solid minerals from the country was part of the ministry’s roadmap.
He added that any miner ready to invest in the sector must be willing to set up processing plants in host communities in order to create jobs for the people.
Fayemi said that whosoever that could not afford setting up a plant should collaborate with others.